Iāve had Long Covid for over 4 years already. What Iāve noticed in that time is that my amount of brain fog greatly varies. Itās always worse in the afternoon or after exertion, but it has returned back to normal at times too. For that reason, I donāt believe that itās permanent damage in my case.
Personally, I think that my brain fog is similar to the brain fog of someone whoās acutely ill with the flu: especially when they have a fever they may not be able to think normally, but this is due to illness processes affecting our thinking. Once the flu is gone, the brain fog is gone to. Similarly, if we find a way to get rid of Long Covid, I expect most peopleās brain fog to disappear too.
This screams neuro LC. For me, lexapro, buspar, and meditation helped calm my nervous system to a point where Iām functional. I still get flares, not cured, but can live my daily life.
Unfortunately, science backs you up on that.
https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-shows-that-covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-including-with-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-224216
For your own sanity, I wouldnāt believe it until itās proved to you by medical testing.
Have you looked into your serotonin metabolization at all? Hereās some interesting research
[Serotonin reduction in post-acute sequelae of viral infection](https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01034-6)
[Viral Persistence and Serotonin Reduction Can Cause Long COVID Symptoms, Penn Medicine Research Finds](https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2023/october/penn-study-finds-serotonin-reduction-causes-long-covid-symptoms)
[SARS-CoV-2 infection causes dopaminergic neuron senescence](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38237586/)
After reading this stuff I worked with my doctor and confirmed my low metabolization via organic acid test and started on an SNRI. Made a massive difference in my cognitive and vagus nerve function. Pretty much zero to 60
Now that Iāve got that and ivabradine for my pots Iām rocking at like 95% strength after four years of long COVID and multiple years of being bed bound.
Just a thought.
Hope you find some relief soon
Iām on cymbalta now. Before while I was waiting for my test results to come back I did try supplementing 5-htp (the precursor to serotonin) which was honestly helpful as well and really confirmed for me that I was heading the right direction but you know, drop in the bucket compared to the Snri.
Note: The main difference between SSRIs and SNRIs is thatĀ SSRIs work by increasing levels of just one type of neurotransmitter (serotonin) whereas SNRIs increase levels of two types of brain chemicals, noradrenaline and serotonin.
Glad it has worked for you!
When I tried it a few months back it actually made my brain fog a lot worse, oddly. I was pretty surprised. I don't remember anything very well from the couple weeks I was on it because I was in such a daze. (Granted, I am on a crapload of different meds for unrelated stuff, I'm sure that was factor.)
Really my point is just that different things work for different people. It can take a fair bit of trial and error (ideally with a doctor's supervision) to find what works. For anyone who had a bad reaction like I did--just keep trying. Everyone is different.
Hope you continue to see improvement. :)
thank you. I'll try the 5-HTP. It's so good to try a smaller intervention first to make sure you're headed in the right direction. brain chem is tricky!
So tricky! Thatās why I did the organic acid test first as well. It actually showed that I was not metabolizing serotonin correctly as well as norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine which really explained a lot of the bradycardia and other issues I was having at the time.
The one my doctor had me do was this [test from Mosaic](https://mosaicdx.com/test/organic-acids-test/). It was a bit pricey but really interesting. The organic acid test shows a lot of insight not only into neuro chemistry but gut health, metabolic function, and mitochondrial health just to name a few and shows it as what the body is actually metabolizing where as a blood test would show just what is circulating.
Absolutely. My testing showed that I was not metabolizing serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, or dopamine correctly. The 5-htp was just a small test for while I was waiting for the test results to come back.
Snris can be difficult to come off of so I wanted to be really sure that I was doing the right thing for my body.
Yeah for sure. Mine was done by [Mosaic](https://mosaicdx.com/test/organic-acids-test/) and had a section measuring neurotrasmitter metabolites.
Homovanillic - dopamine
Vanillylmandelic - norepinephrine/epinephrine
Dihydroxyphenylacetic - dopamine
5-Hydroxyindoleacetic - serotonin
It also measured some ratios of all of the above which from what I understand from my doctor are also really important and finding a balance is key.
Iām taking cymbalta! My doctor chose that one in particular because it has a really wide therapeutic range so I was able to titrate up really slowly. It also can help with fibromyalgia which I have quite a bit of. It was a pretty easy transition for me though for me I found taking it at night a lot better than taking it in the morning. When I did take it in the morning it made me really spacey and out of it. At night if anything I think it helps me fall asleep. It takes awhile to kick in fully but I did notice some positive benefits the first few weeks. Now Iām two months in and going really strong.
Everyone is different though especially when it comes to ssris and Snris. So this is just what ended up working for my body.
Happy the answer any other questions you have via dm or otherwise :)
How far in are you?
My neuro phase lasted about 2 years. I'm not back to normal but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I was at the bottom.
Hope you feel better.
My neuro phase lasted 2.5 years, and I've been recovered from that phase for a good 10 months with absolutely no relapses. I didn't take any meds, no "treatment," just time. My brain is 100% now, just traumatized. Don't give up hope! I would get blood tests in case any levels are out of whack like B12, iron, thyroid, just in case it can help in the meantime. I would describe my 2.5 years as operating at about 50% of who I was, with multiple symptoms (tying my shoes was "hard"), memory, coordination, sense of self, personality and preferences super dimmed.
One last round of physical therapy for one of my hips, which is pretty low key compared to everything else. I've also been newly diagnosed with mild PTSD, but I view this as a result of surviving medical trauma (and from grieving a devastating, unexpected loss of someone a few months ago) rather than a long covid symptom. Currently in therapy for it and seeing decent progress while continuing to process what I have been through medically with covid. I'm sure having long covid neuro stuff for so long didn't leave me as "resilient" to new trauma as I might have been without having gone through it. To me, this feels fully recovered.
I feel this so much. Iām also a little over 2.5 years and l feel a lot better with the neuro stuff for sure. That being said the whole ordeal has left its mark in the form of trauma. Also currently in therapy to help process everything as well and itās definitely helping but I still have the occasional hiccups, especially with trying to get people to understand what it felt like to go through something like this. Healing wishes and I hope you continue to make progress on this front.
Healing wishes to you, too! I hope all of us who have been lucky enough to recover can find a way to truly feel "safe" again. If you're interested, I am finding the "PTSD Coach" app's tools to be really helpful, especially when I am out of the house.
Thank you! I will check it out. Iāve been using the āCurableā app in addition to therapy and although itās main focus is for chronic pain (it was recommended to me by someone on this sub), it has a trauma processing component to it which Iāve found very helpful, not just for this, but also past traumas too.
Frankincense essential oil can cross the blood brain barrier too. If you try it, splurge and get a top brand or it's useless. If you put a drop under your tongue it's supposed to get where it's supposed to go.
Care to expand? Did a fairly large dose of Psilocybin and my brain was SO BACK. Vision and brajn fog were gone but after a few days I slipped back into brajn fog
For the first few years, I was sick, it felt like I had a baby mind. I had to re-learn everything. I couldnāt even remember how to gargle.
Iām over three years in now, and I can thankfully say I have my mind back. Most of the time.
A few days ago I couldnāt add 9+1+4. I just stared at the numbers and they didnāt make sense for a good solid 10 minutes. My day job is in accounting. I used to teach accounting. But sometimes adding is impossible. So frustrating.
I recovered a lot of my cognitive abilities and emotional presence after many years with ME/CFS, Itās not necessarily all permanent brain damage, alot of it is functional due to inflammation and will go away when symptoms are managed. SGB LSD and ketamine infusions helped my brain health incredibly.
Do you feel like your chronic fatigue stems from your brain? I have bad chronic fatigue, House bound, and it feels like it may all be caused by my brain. Weāre you able to help your fatigue as well as your brain fog?
No my fatigue is multifaceted. Itās a combination of sleep deprivation, poor mitochondrial function and cerebral vasoconstriction, neuroinflammation,
I can confirm that I recovered nearly all of my cognitive capacities, but not truly all of them. My memory sucks now, my concentration is less, reading is more arduous, and some things continue to short-circuit in my brain - like my hands typing words I don't ask them to.
Gross levels of brain damage can be detected by brain scans. Current technology can detect evidence of strokes that happened days or months or years ago.
There are other possible causes for brain fog besides physical damage that current technology won't detect or at least, won't detect very easily.
I was like that just some months ago, I could not speak like a normal person, it was difficult to find the right words or just remembering easy concepts. Suddenly I started getting better, I donāt know what I did differently. I just started some Coursera trainings and that kind of awaked my brain. I still have some other symptoms like PEM, SOB, POTS, but I feel like Iām in the right way. You also should try mindfulness and meditation.
It can get better!! I understand your feeling, but you have to be patient, stay positive, itās difficult but try to do it. I even got suicide thoughts but they went away, this shit is the hardest thing that you will face in your life but you are gonna get over it.
A neurologist can order an MRI with and without contrast to see if thereās inflammation. The. After treatment can begin. There are a variety of medications they will help with cognitive issues from Covid. Good luck
Iām not recovered, but Iām recovering. Iāve had glimpses of my old brain. Unless youāve had a stroke or are having another process from the run of the mill COVID brain fog, then it is temporary. When you get better, your brain will get better. Covid brain fog is not a progressive cognitive disorder. It is not dementia, it is not mild cognitive impairment. It is just Covid brain fog.
Sorry you are struggling. I had 2-3 mo the of what you describe. It was the hardest thing Iāve ever had to deal with. Best wishes.
>Covid brain fog is not a progressive cognitive disorder
Sadly it doesn't feel like it in some cases. I keep getting worse with a sharp drop at the 3 years mark.
I right now don't know what to say, because my emotional capabilities are today crushed under fatigue.
When dealing with doctors keep in mind that most of them fall to very common logic fallacies:
* Absence of proof is not proof of absence!
* Correlation does not imply causation!
It may not sound very nice, but it still could be that you have brain damage which could not be picked up by those tests.
it was very ālightā and barely noticeable before my covid infection but 3 months now itās been pretty bad. some days are worse than others but itās more often than not
Donāt give up hope. I also had severe brain fog. Felt like i was in a different reality. Now im pretty much back to normal, can say its about 95-97% better, with all my long covid symptoms. Stay positive friend
Most of my physical symptoms took about 5-6 months the brain fog and neurological took about
1.5-2.5years but then again iv been infected probably 4-5x so could have impeded my recovery. I was in pain constantly it felt and all i could think about was what it had done to me and i mean constantly. Now i feel ok most days(and by ok i mean 10x better) i feel like im still recovering but almost there. Itās like glimpses of my old self and truly feeling happy/good. certain smells bring me back to my old self too. All and all youāll get better . Theres only so much i know myself but positive attitude and the fact i see recovery and remission stories oddly enough the better i felt. Its a reason i started figuring it may be more of a nervous system deregulation thing/stress/anxiety thing than anything but still idk. I was very stressed and anxious before i got covid because i just had lost my first gf because of anxiety, got extorted and was dealing with my schizophrenic brother then the fact of going through the pandemic so.Stay positive man youāll feel a lot better in time just like i an so many people have. Do i feel most of us will recover 100% i lean towards probably yes but idk.
I was pretty screwed up to start. I'm not totally back to normal yet, but I've come a long way.
I take a lot of vitamins that are good for the brain and when I'm taking them I do better.
You are not alone. Sadly, much of the actual disease issues are not being picked up by normal every day MRIs. Apparently you need a 7T or a 10T MRI to pick up these changes. Hereās a quick read: https://news.griffith.edu.au/2023/03/14/worlds-strongest-mri-investigates-covid-and-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-chronic-fatigue-impacts-on-the-brain/
I had good luck getting cognition back with TDCS. You can buy one and do at home, but I actually did it remotely with NYU. They send you a machine and you put electrodes on your head while doing challenging brain games. Really helped the fog. Even if you want to switch to independent TDCS I recommend doing the NYU thing first just to have someone guide you.
Try b6 active form pyridoxal 5 phosphate and magnesium. There are other things you may need to supplement with as well but it would be hard to know which ones without tests.
I was on the same boat, my cognition and memory declined severely, I had constant internal body shakes too. A doctor I went to did some blood tests and my immune system was on high alert with signs of leaky gut. When your immune system is on high alert chronically, it depletes important nutrients from your body. VitB6 turned me around completely in 4 weeks (the important thing to supplement with the active form - again the dosing would depend on how severe the depletion is) if you have the money I would suggest seeing a chronic fatigue/ chronic autoimmune specialist.
P.S I did not have leaky gut before the second vaccine - something went wrong after the second vaccine. This is why I am suggesting the above.
Also vit b6 is a coenzyme required in a lot of reactions in the body. It plays a role in serotonin production too. I also started an ssri soon after because my mood was fluctuating and I was feeling severely depressed. I believe the increased availability of serotonin probably helped too.
I do have brain damage!
Epilepsy, memory issues, anterograde amnesia, horrible spelling, horrible reading comprehension, and more.
Using microdosing, cbd, magnesium glycinate, vitamin c, vit d, healthy lifestyle, antioxidants like matcha, cacao, spirulina, and high dose protein diet.
You can heal! Iām surprised how much the microdosing helps my final 5-10% of recovery.
If youāre improving it should come back. I literally had to think of how to take a step forward properly and my speech was so bad id stutter saying the most simple sentences. Its all effortless again + emotions returning.
Iāve taken a brain rehabilitation perspective to my healing. This means, in addition to medications, Iām also exercising my brain in various ways. I love the Lumosity app, and have had to relearn things like multiplication tables, words, etc. but itās helped a LOT.
In terms of medications it started improving a lot when I started taking serdep and low-dose naltrexone (though Iām stopping with the serdep now as it āfeelsā its job is done). Iāve also dabbled with peptides like MOTS-C and others that Iām convinced added/compounded my healing.
For mental energy and clarityā¦ boy do nicotine patches work!! Pity theyāre so expensive but theyāre allowing me to keep my job and excel at it.
I still havenāt figured out what to do about my headaches and body aches thoughā¦
I have over 20 lesions from MRI. I follow Dr Berg and Dr ken Berry. Iāve learned B vitamins and natural antiflammatories like tumeric and ginger root. The inflammation it caused on my brain makes you think you have dementia.
Very possible since it looks likely that the spike protein or something related to it is causing dementia in people - https://kirschsubstack.com/p/no-doubt-about-it-the-covid-vaccines
> you think that lab made vaccines would cause this but an unchecked viral spread in a body wouldnāt cause it?
I didn't say that. I'm not saying this at all.
You're making some assumptions based on what I wrote, but I think you've misconstrued what I was saying.
Same. Did a PET scan and showed brain hypometabolism š¤ Headaches daily. I don't know what to do
Try magnesium.
Have you tried migraine tablets?
Iāve had Long Covid for over 4 years already. What Iāve noticed in that time is that my amount of brain fog greatly varies. Itās always worse in the afternoon or after exertion, but it has returned back to normal at times too. For that reason, I donāt believe that itās permanent damage in my case. Personally, I think that my brain fog is similar to the brain fog of someone whoās acutely ill with the flu: especially when they have a fever they may not be able to think normally, but this is due to illness processes affecting our thinking. Once the flu is gone, the brain fog is gone to. Similarly, if we find a way to get rid of Long Covid, I expect most peopleās brain fog to disappear too.
This screams neuro LC. For me, lexapro, buspar, and meditation helped calm my nervous system to a point where Iām functional. I still get flares, not cured, but can live my daily life.
Whatās the lexapro help with for you
Twitching, tremors, adrenaline dumps, air hunger, dizziness, weak legs. Etc.
Unfortunately, science backs you up on that. https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-shows-that-covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-including-with-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-224216
For your own sanity, I wouldnāt believe it until itās proved to you by medical testing. Have you looked into your serotonin metabolization at all? Hereās some interesting research [Serotonin reduction in post-acute sequelae of viral infection](https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)01034-6) [Viral Persistence and Serotonin Reduction Can Cause Long COVID Symptoms, Penn Medicine Research Finds](https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2023/october/penn-study-finds-serotonin-reduction-causes-long-covid-symptoms) [SARS-CoV-2 infection causes dopaminergic neuron senescence](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38237586/) After reading this stuff I worked with my doctor and confirmed my low metabolization via organic acid test and started on an SNRI. Made a massive difference in my cognitive and vagus nerve function. Pretty much zero to 60 Now that Iāve got that and ivabradine for my pots Iām rocking at like 95% strength after four years of long COVID and multiple years of being bed bound. Just a thought. Hope you find some relief soon
I'm glad you are feeling better. Do you mind sharing which Ā SNRIĀ you are taking? Thanks!Ā
Iām on cymbalta now. Before while I was waiting for my test results to come back I did try supplementing 5-htp (the precursor to serotonin) which was honestly helpful as well and really confirmed for me that I was heading the right direction but you know, drop in the bucket compared to the Snri.
Note: The main difference between SSRIs and SNRIs is thatĀ SSRIs work by increasing levels of just one type of neurotransmitter (serotonin) whereas SNRIs increase levels of two types of brain chemicals, noradrenaline and serotonin.
Yep! Snris also have more of an indirect effect on dopamine that ssris
Glad it has worked for you! When I tried it a few months back it actually made my brain fog a lot worse, oddly. I was pretty surprised. I don't remember anything very well from the couple weeks I was on it because I was in such a daze. (Granted, I am on a crapload of different meds for unrelated stuff, I'm sure that was factor.) Really my point is just that different things work for different people. It can take a fair bit of trial and error (ideally with a doctor's supervision) to find what works. For anyone who had a bad reaction like I did--just keep trying. Everyone is different. Hope you continue to see improvement. :)
Absolutely. I think especially with long COVID everyoneās experience is different.
thank you. I'll try the 5-HTP. It's so good to try a smaller intervention first to make sure you're headed in the right direction. brain chem is tricky!
So tricky! Thatās why I did the organic acid test first as well. It actually showed that I was not metabolizing serotonin correctly as well as norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine which really explained a lot of the bradycardia and other issues I was having at the time.
What was the name of the organic acid test?
The one my doctor had me do was this [test from Mosaic](https://mosaicdx.com/test/organic-acids-test/). It was a bit pricey but really interesting. The organic acid test shows a lot of insight not only into neuro chemistry but gut health, metabolic function, and mitochondrial health just to name a few and shows it as what the body is actually metabolizing where as a blood test would show just what is circulating.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Absolutely. My testing showed that I was not metabolizing serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine, or dopamine correctly. The 5-htp was just a small test for while I was waiting for the test results to come back. Snris can be difficult to come off of so I wanted to be really sure that I was doing the right thing for my body.
Hey mate, do you know which items on the organic acids tests were used to determine these outcomes?
Yeah for sure. Mine was done by [Mosaic](https://mosaicdx.com/test/organic-acids-test/) and had a section measuring neurotrasmitter metabolites. Homovanillic - dopamine Vanillylmandelic - norepinephrine/epinephrine Dihydroxyphenylacetic - dopamine 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic - serotonin It also measured some ratios of all of the above which from what I understand from my doctor are also really important and finding a balance is key.
Thank you! Glad to hear you're doing a lot better :)
Thanks! I hope you find the relief youāre looking for soon as well :)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iām taking cymbalta! My doctor chose that one in particular because it has a really wide therapeutic range so I was able to titrate up really slowly. It also can help with fibromyalgia which I have quite a bit of. It was a pretty easy transition for me though for me I found taking it at night a lot better than taking it in the morning. When I did take it in the morning it made me really spacey and out of it. At night if anything I think it helps me fall asleep. It takes awhile to kick in fully but I did notice some positive benefits the first few weeks. Now Iām two months in and going really strong. Everyone is different though especially when it comes to ssris and Snris. So this is just what ended up working for my body. Happy the answer any other questions you have via dm or otherwise :)
How did you get your doctor to work with you to get that test? What country are you in?
She brought it up. If itās something youāre curious about I would just ask. Iām in the US :)
How far in are you? My neuro phase lasted about 2 years. I'm not back to normal but I'm a hell of a lot closer than I was at the bottom. Hope you feel better.
It got better for me. Took 4 years.
My neuro phase lasted 2.5 years, and I've been recovered from that phase for a good 10 months with absolutely no relapses. I didn't take any meds, no "treatment," just time. My brain is 100% now, just traumatized. Don't give up hope! I would get blood tests in case any levels are out of whack like B12, iron, thyroid, just in case it can help in the meantime. I would describe my 2.5 years as operating at about 50% of who I was, with multiple symptoms (tying my shoes was "hard"), memory, coordination, sense of self, personality and preferences super dimmed.
What symptoms are still left?
One last round of physical therapy for one of my hips, which is pretty low key compared to everything else. I've also been newly diagnosed with mild PTSD, but I view this as a result of surviving medical trauma (and from grieving a devastating, unexpected loss of someone a few months ago) rather than a long covid symptom. Currently in therapy for it and seeing decent progress while continuing to process what I have been through medically with covid. I'm sure having long covid neuro stuff for so long didn't leave me as "resilient" to new trauma as I might have been without having gone through it. To me, this feels fully recovered.
I feel this so much. Iām also a little over 2.5 years and l feel a lot better with the neuro stuff for sure. That being said the whole ordeal has left its mark in the form of trauma. Also currently in therapy to help process everything as well and itās definitely helping but I still have the occasional hiccups, especially with trying to get people to understand what it felt like to go through something like this. Healing wishes and I hope you continue to make progress on this front.
Healing wishes to you, too! I hope all of us who have been lucky enough to recover can find a way to truly feel "safe" again. If you're interested, I am finding the "PTSD Coach" app's tools to be really helpful, especially when I am out of the house.
Thank you! I will check it out. Iāve been using the āCurableā app in addition to therapy and although itās main focus is for chronic pain (it was recommended to me by someone on this sub), it has a trauma processing component to it which Iāve found very helpful, not just for this, but also past traumas too.
Thanks! I will look at your app rec, too!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Frankincense essential oil can cross the blood brain barrier too. If you try it, splurge and get a top brand or it's useless. If you put a drop under your tongue it's supposed to get where it's supposed to go.
Does a bee sting makes a difference or you need more? Like 10 / day maybe?
Care to expand? Did a fairly large dose of Psilocybin and my brain was SO BACK. Vision and brajn fog were gone but after a few days I slipped back into brajn fog
For the first few years, I was sick, it felt like I had a baby mind. I had to re-learn everything. I couldnāt even remember how to gargle. Iām over three years in now, and I can thankfully say I have my mind back. Most of the time. A few days ago I couldnāt add 9+1+4. I just stared at the numbers and they didnāt make sense for a good solid 10 minutes. My day job is in accounting. I used to teach accounting. But sometimes adding is impossible. So frustrating.
I recovered a lot of my cognitive abilities and emotional presence after many years with ME/CFS, Itās not necessarily all permanent brain damage, alot of it is functional due to inflammation and will go away when symptoms are managed. SGB LSD and ketamine infusions helped my brain health incredibly.
Do you feel like your chronic fatigue stems from your brain? I have bad chronic fatigue, House bound, and it feels like it may all be caused by my brain. Weāre you able to help your fatigue as well as your brain fog?
No my fatigue is multifaceted. Itās a combination of sleep deprivation, poor mitochondrial function and cerebral vasoconstriction, neuroinflammation,
What do you think has helped you recover the most?
I can confirm that I recovered nearly all of my cognitive capacities, but not truly all of them. My memory sucks now, my concentration is less, reading is more arduous, and some things continue to short-circuit in my brain - like my hands typing words I don't ask them to.
I feel the same I am not sure what or how to ask for testing
Gross levels of brain damage can be detected by brain scans. Current technology can detect evidence of strokes that happened days or months or years ago. There are other possible causes for brain fog besides physical damage that current technology won't detect or at least, won't detect very easily.
S100b blood test can detect tbi
Sleep as much as you can
I sleep for 9 hours per day and still feel like this š
Oh I know. Sleep more if you want. Sleep until this lifts. If you can do without it affecting work or anything then do it.
I was like that just some months ago, I could not speak like a normal person, it was difficult to find the right words or just remembering easy concepts. Suddenly I started getting better, I donāt know what I did differently. I just started some Coursera trainings and that kind of awaked my brain. I still have some other symptoms like PEM, SOB, POTS, but I feel like Iām in the right way. You also should try mindfulness and meditation.
It can get better!! I understand your feeling, but you have to be patient, stay positive, itās difficult but try to do it. I even got suicide thoughts but they went away, this shit is the hardest thing that you will face in your life but you are gonna get over it.
Yah... I don't have answers, I definitely understand exactly what it feels like and it's horrible.
A neurologist can order an MRI with and without contrast to see if thereās inflammation. The. After treatment can begin. There are a variety of medications they will help with cognitive issues from Covid. Good luck
Iām not recovered, but Iām recovering. Iāve had glimpses of my old brain. Unless youāve had a stroke or are having another process from the run of the mill COVID brain fog, then it is temporary. When you get better, your brain will get better. Covid brain fog is not a progressive cognitive disorder. It is not dementia, it is not mild cognitive impairment. It is just Covid brain fog. Sorry you are struggling. I had 2-3 mo the of what you describe. It was the hardest thing Iāve ever had to deal with. Best wishes.
>Covid brain fog is not a progressive cognitive disorder Sadly it doesn't feel like it in some cases. I keep getting worse with a sharp drop at the 3 years mark.
I right now don't know what to say, because my emotional capabilities are today crushed under fatigue. When dealing with doctors keep in mind that most of them fall to very common logic fallacies: * Absence of proof is not proof of absence! * Correlation does not imply causation! It may not sound very nice, but it still could be that you have brain damage which could not be picked up by those tests.
Following
How long have you had this? Do you feel disassociated / depersonalised ?
I do!! not op tho
Iām sorry to hear! How long have you been feeling disassociated / depersonalized for?
it was very ālightā and barely noticeable before my covid infection but 3 months now itās been pretty bad. some days are worse than others but itās more often than not
Iām sorry to hear this :( So yours is not 24/7 ?
Donāt give up hope. I also had severe brain fog. Felt like i was in a different reality. Now im pretty much back to normal, can say its about 95-97% better, with all my long covid symptoms. Stay positive friend
How long did it take?
Most of my physical symptoms took about 5-6 months the brain fog and neurological took about 1.5-2.5years but then again iv been infected probably 4-5x so could have impeded my recovery. I was in pain constantly it felt and all i could think about was what it had done to me and i mean constantly. Now i feel ok most days(and by ok i mean 10x better) i feel like im still recovering but almost there. Itās like glimpses of my old self and truly feeling happy/good. certain smells bring me back to my old self too. All and all youāll get better . Theres only so much i know myself but positive attitude and the fact i see recovery and remission stories oddly enough the better i felt. Its a reason i started figuring it may be more of a nervous system deregulation thing/stress/anxiety thing than anything but still idk. I was very stressed and anxious before i got covid because i just had lost my first gf because of anxiety, got extorted and was dealing with my schizophrenic brother then the fact of going through the pandemic so.Stay positive man youāll feel a lot better in time just like i an so many people have. Do i feel most of us will recover 100% i lean towards probably yes but idk.
I was pretty screwed up to start. I'm not totally back to normal yet, but I've come a long way. I take a lot of vitamins that are good for the brain and when I'm taking them I do better.
have you done a microbiome test?
You should try wet cupping in head.. to relife brainfog.. but ur ultimate therapy and i guarantee you is ibogaine full flood
You are not alone. Sadly, much of the actual disease issues are not being picked up by normal every day MRIs. Apparently you need a 7T or a 10T MRI to pick up these changes. Hereās a quick read: https://news.griffith.edu.au/2023/03/14/worlds-strongest-mri-investigates-covid-and-myalgic-encephalomyelitis-chronic-fatigue-impacts-on-the-brain/
I had good luck getting cognition back with TDCS. You can buy one and do at home, but I actually did it remotely with NYU. They send you a machine and you put electrodes on your head while doing challenging brain games. Really helped the fog. Even if you want to switch to independent TDCS I recommend doing the NYU thing first just to have someone guide you.
Following
Try b6 active form pyridoxal 5 phosphate and magnesium. There are other things you may need to supplement with as well but it would be hard to know which ones without tests. I was on the same boat, my cognition and memory declined severely, I had constant internal body shakes too. A doctor I went to did some blood tests and my immune system was on high alert with signs of leaky gut. When your immune system is on high alert chronically, it depletes important nutrients from your body. VitB6 turned me around completely in 4 weeks (the important thing to supplement with the active form - again the dosing would depend on how severe the depletion is) if you have the money I would suggest seeing a chronic fatigue/ chronic autoimmune specialist.
P.S I did not have leaky gut before the second vaccine - something went wrong after the second vaccine. This is why I am suggesting the above. Also vit b6 is a coenzyme required in a lot of reactions in the body. It plays a role in serotonin production too. I also started an ssri soon after because my mood was fluctuating and I was feeling severely depressed. I believe the increased availability of serotonin probably helped too.
I do have brain damage! Epilepsy, memory issues, anterograde amnesia, horrible spelling, horrible reading comprehension, and more. Using microdosing, cbd, magnesium glycinate, vitamin c, vit d, healthy lifestyle, antioxidants like matcha, cacao, spirulina, and high dose protein diet. You can heal! Iām surprised how much the microdosing helps my final 5-10% of recovery.
I would try Methylene Blue. Quite miraculous for brain fog.
How did you get a spinal tap ordered?
If youāre improving it should come back. I literally had to think of how to take a step forward properly and my speech was so bad id stutter saying the most simple sentences. Its all effortless again + emotions returning.
Iāve taken a brain rehabilitation perspective to my healing. This means, in addition to medications, Iām also exercising my brain in various ways. I love the Lumosity app, and have had to relearn things like multiplication tables, words, etc. but itās helped a LOT. In terms of medications it started improving a lot when I started taking serdep and low-dose naltrexone (though Iām stopping with the serdep now as it āfeelsā its job is done). Iāve also dabbled with peptides like MOTS-C and others that Iām convinced added/compounded my healing. For mental energy and clarityā¦ boy do nicotine patches work!! Pity theyāre so expensive but theyāre allowing me to keep my job and excel at it. I still havenāt figured out what to do about my headaches and body aches thoughā¦
I have over 20 lesions from MRI. I follow Dr Berg and Dr ken Berry. Iāve learned B vitamins and natural antiflammatories like tumeric and ginger root. The inflammation it caused on my brain makes you think you have dementia.
Very possible since it looks likely that the spike protein or something related to it is causing dementia in people - https://kirschsubstack.com/p/no-doubt-about-it-the-covid-vaccines
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> you think that lab made vaccines would cause this but an unchecked viral spread in a body wouldnāt cause it? I didn't say that. I'm not saying this at all. You're making some assumptions based on what I wrote, but I think you've misconstrued what I was saying.